APPEARANCE
Compact, short coupled and well knit with an almost square outline. Firm condition, the profuse coat not disguising any lack of substance.
Head And Skull:
Medium large, broad and nearly flat skull when viewed from above and narrowing in a wedge shape to the nose. Stop moderately defined; muzzle approximately half length of head. Cheeks clean. Flews tight, no trace of lippiness.
Nose:
Black in black, white, black/white parti-colours, black/tan bi-colours. Self colour as compatible with coat colour in other colour varieties. Never parti-colour or pink.
Eyes:
Medium size, oval shaped and obliquely set. Not too wide apart. Always dark with black rims in blacks, whites black/white parti-colours, black/tan bi-colours. As dark as compatible with coat colour in other colour varieties.
Ears:
Small, triangular and set rather high. Perfectly erect.
Mouth:
A perfect, regular and complete scissor bite, i.e. upper teeth closely overlapping the lower teeth and set square to the jaws. Black lips in black, white, black/white in parti-colours, black/tan bi-colours. Colour as compatible with coat colour in other colour varieties.
Neck:
Clean, moderately short and well set into the shoulders.
Forequarters:
Moderately sloping shoulder; upper arm of sufficient length to ensure elbow is vertically below point of withers. Moderate forechest. Elbows equidistant between ground and withers, turning neither in nor out. Well-boned, straight legs. Pasterns strong and flexible.
Body:
Length from point of shoulder to point of buttock equal to height at withers; short, well-developed loin. Moderate tuck-up. Well ribbed-up and rounded. Distance from brisket to ground not less than half the height from ground to withers. Top-line level.
Hindquarters:
Moderate angulation with hocks moderately well let down. Neither cow hocked nor wide behind.
Feet:
Small, rounded, cat like, with well arched toes.
Tail:
High set, curled right up from root, lying curled over back.
Gait/Movement:
Moving without exaggeration from any angle. Straight coming and going. Viewed from side, effortless, brisk action, retaining topline.
Coat:
Double coat consisting of a soft woolly undercoat and a long harsh textured perfectly straight top coat covering the whole of the body. Abundant around neck and forequarters with a frill of profuse, but not excessive, off standing straight hair extending over the shoulders. Forelimbs well feathered tapering from elbows to pasterns. Hind limbs feathered to hocks. Ears covered with soft short hair, Hair on the face smooth and short. Tail profusely covered with long spreading hair. This is not a trimmed breed and evidence of trimming and shaping, other than tidying of the feet, anal area and the legs below the hocks, unacceptable.
Colour:
All colour varieties and markings acceptable. Butterfly pigment not permitted with any colour.
Sizes:
Mittel 30-38cm high (at the withers)
German Spitz also come in a smaller size referred to as a 'Klein' which measures 23-29cm at the withers.
Content from this page (including image) has been taken directly from the ANKC approved breed standard for German Spitz: